The Generation Mission
by ChocolateCherryGenesis
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki was chosen to become the next ANBU Black Ops Captain, training in advanced ninja arts since his childhood. But sometimes complications arise, and sometimes even an ANBU Captain cannot face a threat alone.


**Story**: The Generation Mission

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Naruto_.

**Author**: ChocolateCherryGenesis

**Summary**: Naruto Uzumaki was chosen to become the next ANBU Black Ops Captain, trained in advanced ninja arts since his childhood. But sometimes complications arise, and sometimes even an ANBU Captain cannot face a threat alone.

**Published**: Nov 24, 2012

**Notes**: Happy Thanksgiving two days ago! I'm pretty happy, because my dad took me to a used bookstore yesterday, and I now have a copy of _Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code_. So, happy dance. He also bought my brothers a couple of Magic Tree House books. Also very happy because my dad gave me a really old computer that no one's used in years and has hung out in the desk with our normal family computer. Unfortunately, it has no wireless thingy, so no Internet on it. It does have a word processor, though, and dad owns a flash drive.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Naruto Uzumaki, ANBU Apprentice

* * *

_"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Naruto said, gesturing wildly from his place standing above his mentor a short distance away. "Whether you kill them, or foreign ninja kill them, or the Council kills them, or someone else kills them, or if the Hokage himself kills them, it doesn't matter! You're the next Clan Head, and you dare to give up so soon! Until the Council's execution date arrives, there's always a chance! It's your job to protect them––NO MATTER WHAT! That is the duty of the eldest son to their parents! To protect the family! I don't have any, but I sure wouldn't give up like this if I did have a family! I would fight until my last breath to keep them safe! And you're just giving up without a fight!"_

* * *

The Third Hokage gripped his chair's armrests until his knuckles turned white. He was not completely sure that he was making the right choice, and that more than anything else caused him to be concerned. His eyes narrowed as he tried to contain his worry.

Naruto Uzumaki stood in front of the Hokage's antique desk, waiting patiently with a maturity that did not seem quite at place on the six-year-old's face. Seeing this, the Third Hokage only became more concerned. The boy could barely see over the surface of his desk. Would it really be right to train him at such a young age?

But the decision was out of his hands. The ANBU Head Captain had personally chosen Naruto Uzumaki to be his heir. The ANBU had always been out of his jurisdiction, and until now it had caused no problems. It was thought that the ANBU Black Ops were the Hokage's most elite and loyal ninja, but that was completely wrong.

The ANBU Black Ops had been founded by the First Hokage as a measure to diminish the Hokage's mostly absolute power over the actual Ninja in the Village. Neither the Council nor the Hokage could order the ANBU Head Captain, not even in emergency situations. The ANBU Head Captain was the third great power in the Leaf Village, and no one except the Hokage himself even knew it.

"Naruto, an . . . offer has been made," the Hokage said, watching the curiosity on the boy's face as he composed himself with a neutral mask. "For your care."

Naruto blinked. "Someone wants to adopt me?" he wondered. "Why?" he asked suspiciously. "No one wanted me before."

The Hokage sighed, putting thumb and index finger against his aching old eyes. "It isn't quite an adoption. For a while now, the ANBU Black Ops have been keeping an eye on you. They decided that you showed enough potential as a ninja prodigy that they would personally oversee your training."

Naruto frowned, seeing the worry contained in the old man's eyes. "But that isn't everything. You're leaving something out," he accused.

"The ANBU Head Captain chose you as his heir."

Naruto's eyes widened dramatically. Since his birth, no one but the Hokage had seemed to care that he was even alive, and now the ANBU Head Captain––the only ninja in the Village whose pure offensive power was rumored to rival the Hokage's––had chosen him as heir. It was just impossible.

Before Naruto could object, the Hokage continued his explanation.

"You have to understand, Naruto, that I have no authority in the ANBU Black Ops division of the Village. I would have to ask their _permission_ to even visit you. You would go through grueling training, and you might even die. You would be pushed to your absolute limits. Whether the end result is worth enough to sacrifice your childhood is no one's choice but your own, Naruto. There is no middle ground here. Once you say yes, you will never be able to take it back. Ever. The only reason I'm not demanding that they wait until you are older, is because you're smart enough to know what this means at your current age. If you truly feel the need to leave ANBU, I can try to pull some strings, but I can't guarantee anything." The Third Hokage's face clearly imparted the seriousness of the situation. In this case, he was almost powerless, and that caused the Third Hokage's heart to ache.

Naruto was completely taken aback, blue eyes wide at the surprises that he was currently being subjected to. The Hokage was usually very laid-back and relaxed, but currently his eyes were as sharp as steel. Now Naruto could understand the respect that the rest of the Village had for their leader––he would hate to be an enemy on the battlefield when looking at those eyes.

"I . . . I . . . I don't know," Naruto said, stuttering a bit. "Even with my high chakra levels and high intelligence, I don't know if I'd survive ANBU-level training."

"I'm glad you said that, Naruto," the Hokage said. "This is an important decision. If you had jumped in, I would have known that you were not ready. Think over it for a while. The ANBU Head Captain wants to meet you in a week. You can give your answer then."

[] [] [] [] []

Three Years Later

[] [] [] [] []

A figure––shorter than an adult, but tall enough to be of an age capable of reason, if not wisdom––walked through the halls of the ANBU Headquarters towards the Head Captain's office, frowning behind his standard-issue ceramic mask as he puzzled about the source of the Captain's summons.

What could the Captain wish to talk to him about? His training had been doing well, but no better than usual. He had started to research his own team for when he would become Head Captain, but the current Captain had already approved the potential ninja. So what could this be about?

As he came to the Captain's office, he sensed two of the Captain's personal guards outside the door––Dog and Cat. Without a thought, the figure quickly activated a Henge on approach. It was an unwritten but serious law that no one was to see the general appearance of the next ANBU Captain until the previous ANBU Captain either died or retired, for safety. To break this law had serious consequences. Consequences that the figure was too smart to ignore.

The two proud, statue-like ANBU Operatives did not even flinch as they saw the Henge of the next Captain walking lazily toward them, hands in his pockets.

Cat gave a small bow. "Weasel-sama is waiting for you," she murmured, opening the door quietly.

The figure walked through slowly, waiting until the door was closed before dropping the Henge, knowing that the office and door was lined with a rare chakra-absorbing stone. No Bloodline Limit could see through the stone, so he was currently safe.

He walked across the wooden floor, black ninja sandals making no sound at all as the Henge faded away piece by piece, unlike the usual clouds made by Genin and Chunin. The wisps peeled away without the usual loud _poof!_ while leaving only the short figure. It was a plain room, with no windows, the only furniture being a small couch in the corner, a pair of armchairs, and a large desk. Sitting at the desk, chin propped in his hand, was the Captain.

The short figure knew more about the Captain than the other ANBU, which allowed him a few privileges. Even with his personal guard, the Captain usually kept his hood up to conceal his hair length and color, and usually kept his cloak on to confuse others as to his exact body structure. All these things could potentially ID him, and so the Captain usually kept himself hidden. But, as stated before, the short figure knew more about the Captain than the other ANBU did.

Understandably, it came as no surprise to the once-again-short figure to see the hooded cloak thrown over one of the armchairs. It also came as no surprise to see the Captain's long black hair and body structure of what was obviously a very young man, a mere teenager.

"Hey, Captain," the figure said, waving a hand as he made his way toward the desk. But even with the informal greeting, he still bowed in respect as he reached the Captain.

"At ease," the Captain said absentmindedly, shuffling through paperwork. "I'll be with you in a moment."

The figure shrugged and collapsed onto an armchair. When unnecessary formality could be avoided, he often ignored it. He counted the Captain as a friend––even a father figure––ever since the Captain had taken him in and personally overseen his training. There was no reason to stick to the usual, boring, official talk.

While the Captain never allowed himself to become attached to his Operatives––they were ANBU, after all, and assigned only the most dangerous and life-threatening missions––the Captain had always had a noticeable empathy with his heir. The Captain had also been a child genius, like his heir. The Captain had been forced to enter a war that children should not have ever witnessed, because of his promising skills as a prodigy ninja, and his heir had been one of the victims of the Kyubi Attack ten years ago, being forced to hold a burden far greater than any child should have to bear.

As the Captain finished filling his current Mission Statement, he placed it down and folded his hands. "I'm sure that you know I have something important to say."

The figure lazily tilted his head in thought. "Yes, but I still have no idea what that is. My training, my recruiting . . . nothing seems to have any reason for your involvement."

"I found that it was time you learned what we really are," the Captain said, Sharingan eyes flashing behind his mask for a moment during the Captain's moment of high emotion before it was smothered by his training so that his Sharingan could deactivate. "My retirement is at hand, and you will need to be able to take over smoothly."

The figure was shocked into silence for a moment. "You can't be serious . . ." he said with disbelief, the words barely heard even by their shared advanced senses, before he jumped up, slamming his hand on the desk, and started shouting. "You promised me! You promised me that you would protect the Village with me!"

The figure's face was filled with betrayal under his mask, blue eyes gleaming with disgust.

The Captain caught the subconscious movement of his heir as the boy's hand slowly reached closer to his weapons pouch. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed as he let himself sigh in annoyance. The boy probably did not even realize that he was reaching for his pouch. "Naruto . . ."

"No!" the boy shouted. "You took me in! Everyone hated me, hated me for some reason that I didn't know! But you trained me, explained things, gave me the comrades that I had always wanted! And now you tell me that you're just _leaving_?!"

"It's not that simple, Naruto," the Captain said. "It has to do with what we are."

"And how the heck would that change anything?!" Naruto exclaimed, ripping his blank mask off in a show of barely-contained fury, revealing to his mentor just how angry he was by accidentally shattering the modified porcelain, which had the ability to block even shuriken without too much damage. However, it was now in pieces and Naruto's hand did not even have a single scratch.

The Captain's eyes glanced at the mask as it shattered and fell to the floor with a sound similar to the twinkling of bells, but did not seem concerned with the show of extreme strength. "When I was your age, I, too, did not understand why my mentor left. But then I accepted the Mission, and I understood. Just as you will," he said calmly.

Naruto was livid. "Don't you dare presume to think that you know me, Uchiha Itachi! Not after this!" he said, shoulders shaking with emotional tension as he clenched his fists. His blue eyes flashed for a moment––turning red and slitted––before Naruto chased the foul red chakra away. Naruto closed his eyes, staying motionless for a few moments before opening them again and letting loose a deep sigh.

"You better start talking."

Itachi knew that Naruto was doing him a great service by allowing him to explain himself. Many people in that situation would just turn around and leave, but Naruto had always had the habit of giving people the benefit of the doubt.

Even as Itachi sat next to Naruto in the remaining armchair––a sign of equals, neither one sitting in the Captain's throne-like chair––he could not help thinking what he would miss when he was gone. Naruto would one day sit on that large chair with pride, commanding the most powerful ninja in the Village. Naruto's dream had once been Hokage––and Naruto still wished to become Hokage one day––but until then, ANBU Captain was the next-highest position.

Itachi closed his eyes wearily and took off his own mask. This was no longer a talk between Captain and Operative. It was a talk between teacher and student.

"There have been exactly nine Captains within the history of the Leaf Village," Itachi started. "And each one was assigned a Mission completely secret to everyone but the Head Captains and the Hokage. It was called the Generation Mission."

Naruto sat back down, hands on his knees. "I'm listening."

"The Village is made strong by the bonds between teammates, and the bonds between Kage and his people. The Generation Mission was created by the first ANBU Head Captain as a way of strengthening those bonds," the Uchiha explained. "The ANBU Captain was given the mission of concealing himself as an ordinary ninja and learning about the people. He learned their dreams, their hopes, and their fears. He risked his life alongside theirs. That is the Generation Mission's first purpose, to breach the chasm between the rulers and the people. As the next Captain, this is the reason that I have commanded you to attend the Academy, just like any other ninja."

Naruto leaned back in his chair, relaxing. "All right," he said, voice calm as he regained his clear mind as he was trained. "What is the second purpose?"

"The second purpose is the more distressing," Itachi said. "Because the Captain has breached the chasm between leader and people, it becomes his duty to watch out for traitors. If a ninja of the Leaf Village turns traitor, it is his responsibility. When he informs the Hokage, it becomes _his responsibility_ to hunt down the traitor and personally escort him back for justice."

Naruto shrugged. "And a traitor has popped up?" he asked. "I still don't see the problem. Hunt the Missing-Nin, bring him back, have him hold trial. Hunter Nin do that all the time. Simple."

"It isn't that simple at all," Itachi said wearily. "I've been trying to stop them from planning to betray the Leaf Village since I was just a boy, but they finally completed their plans. They're planning to attack the Leaf Village from within and hold a coup."

"So it's a group, huh?" Naruto asked. "I can see where this becomes more complex. You can't round them all up without letting you know that you're after them. It takes time to arrest any competent ninja and escort him to a holding cell, even if they are lower-ranked."

"But not to kill one."

Naruto head whirled around from his thinking pose as he looked toward Itachi, flinching at the dead look in his mentor's eyes. His voice was weak as he asked, "_What . . ._?"

"I have already laid all evidence against them to the Hokage and the Council. The Council overruled the Hokage. They called for immediate death of all conspirators. If I disobey, I will be killed too."

"Why?!" Naruto exclaimed, reaching out to grab for his mentor's sleeve in horror. "Why would they accuse you of treason too?!"

"Because the Uchiha Clan is planning the coup. As an Uchiha, they have decided to kill me if I don't follow their orders."

"But the Uchiha Clan controls the Police Force!" Naruto said, clutching at any excuse that entered his mind. "If they're all killed off, the Civilians will be defenseless!"

"Arrangements have already been made for ANBU and Jōnin to begin patrolling the streets."

"What about the innocents?!" Naruto asked, letting go of his mentor's sleeve to stand up and start frantically pacing in circles with distress. "They can't all want the coup! What about the children, and the Genin who don't know any better?!" Naruto's eyes widened in even greater horror, freezing in mid-step. "What about Sasuke?"

"Every man, woman, and child bearing the name of 'Uchiha' is to be massacred," Itachi said in a dead tone. "After I do so, they will deny all connections with me and denounce me as a Missing-Nin and I am ordered to infiltrate an organization called Akatsuki and gather information, which I am to pass onto Jiraiya the Toad Sage."

"They can't do that!" Naruto said, grabbing Itachi's shoulders and shaking them roughly. "They're ordering you to kill your own family and then they tell you that they're going to accuse you of doing it on your own?! You can't let them do that! You're Captain of the ANBU, for heaven's sake!"

Itachi shook his head slowly. To Naruto, it seemed as if Itachi had simply lost the will to struggle. "After the Third Ninja World War, I was too content with the peace to gather my power. The Council has undermined my authority––if I disobey, they're going to arrest me and do it anyway."

"And that's why you're telling me this?!" Naruto asked. "There's still a way to spare them!"

"How?" Itachi asked in a monotone. "I can't fake their deaths, I can't disobey my orders, and I can't warn them. If I don't kill them, someone else will."

Naruto drew back in shock. His mentor was giving up? Itachi, the strongest prodigy since Copy-Cat Kakashi, was giving up without a fight? He shook his head as his back touched the wall. His knees felt week. Even as he slid to the floor, he felt numb. This was the man that he looked up to, the man that took him in?

And Naruto understood what Itachi meant. He understood just how backed into a corner the Uchiha was. In some corner of his mind, he wondered how it would have felt to be forced to execute his own parents, whoever they were. As an orphan, he could not imagine the pure pain that his mentor must be going through right now.

But then Naruto knew. He would never be able to murder his parents, not even if they were planning treason. Itachi's dead eyes did not even take notice as his blond-haired apprentice slowly stood up, using the wall as a support. Naruto began to feel his strength rushing back in furious waves, his head dipped down and face hidden in the shadows.

Before Itachi could compute what had just happened, he was holding his broken nose as blood dripped from it, knocked from the armchair to the floor in a heap.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Naruto said, gesturing wildly from his place standing above his mentor a short distance away. "Whether you kill them, or foreign ninja kill them, or the Council kills them, or someone else kills them, or if the Hokage himself kills them, it doesn't matter! You're the next Clan Head, and you dare to give up so soon! Until the Council's execution date arrives, there's always a chance! It's your job to protect them––NO MATTER WHAT! That is the duty of the eldest son to their parents! To protect the family! I don't have any, but I sure wouldn't give up like this if I did have a family! I would fight until my last breath to keep them safe! And you're just giving up without a fight!"

Itachi's eyes were wide in shock at his apprentice's actions, but he still was not convinced. Naruto saw this and frowned deeper, as if the facial expression would be stuck there forever. Naruto leapt over to Itachi and mercilessly placed a foot on his mentor's aching chest, pulling him up by his collar. "Is your love for your family really that shallow?" Naruto asked with disdain, looking at his mentor's face, searching for some form of life, some form of resistance toward the Council's execution order.

He found none.

". . . _Pathetic_."

Naruto pushed Itachi forcefully back down to the floor, the teenager's head meeting the wooden floorboards with a loud _thud! _Normally, Itachi would have overcome Naruto, but Itachi was emotionally wounded and Naruto was strengthened by his fury at the betrayal of his mentor.

Naruto marched over to the desk and opened a drawer, a certain jerky anger to his movements, pulling out a spare mask and slipping it onto his face. He pulled his hood over his hair roughly and stomped toward the door, hand shaking in fury as he touched the handle and prepared to let himself out.

". . . . _Wait_."

Naruto turned to face the source of the weak whisper.

Itachi rolled over to his stomach and placed his hands on the floor as he weakly drew himself up. Itachi slowly struggled to stand, face covered with blood, but eyes shining with life.

"What do you have in mind?"

Behind Naruto's mask, his face lit up in hope.

[] [] [] [] []

"Ugh."

A blond-haired boy was woken by the electronic sounds of his alarm clock, slamming his fist on it and trying to shield his face from the rays of sun coming from his window. He eventually gave up, standing up and walking toward the kitchenette in his apartment to cook breakfast.

He attempted to keep himself too busy to think about his dream, but was unsuccessful. As he poured pancake batter into a warmed pan, staring blankly at the slowly flattening shapes, he frowned at his dream––no, his _memory_. At that time, four years ago, it had seemed as if everything would work out . . .


End file.
